Professional Documents
Culture Documents
AND CONSTRUCTION
by
Gary S. Berman, PE
GREYHAWK North America, LLC
Table of Contents
GLOSSARY
I.
II.
10
A.
B.
C.
D.
III.
11
1.
2.
3.
4.
13
17
18
22
Detailing
23
1.
2.
3.
4.
24
26
28
29
Fabrication
Erection
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33
IV.
Engineering
Engineering
Detailing
Fabrication
Erection
37
38
38
41
42
Weight
Connections
Quality
Schedule
Changes
Cost Estimates
Other Disciplines
Structural Drawings
Failure
Economies of Scale
43
43
45
46
47
48
48
50
51
52
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GLOSSARY
This glossary defines some expressions that are commonplace to the entire
construction industry, with a focus on the steel industry.
Advanced Bill a preliminary bill of materials prepared using the Engineer of
records contract drawings. From the advanced bill, a purchase order is
usually prepared and provided to the steel mill or manufacturer to reserve
a time slot (window) in which the steel order will be produced or to
reserve a certain quantity of shapes produced by the mill.
AISC The American Institute of Steel Construction.
AISC Weight the weight of structural steel as defined by the AISC.
Anchor Bolt an embedded bolt or threaded connection used to attach
column bases and transfer loads to the foundation.
ASTM The American Society of Testing and Materials and the organization that
generally establishes the grades of structural steel.
Beam a structural element that usually carries its primary loads in bending
perpendicular to its axis.
Bearing Area The part of the Beam, column or structural element that rests on
a support.
Blanks an assembly of identical or nearly identical multiple structural elements
or built-ups fabricated prior to engineering or detailing being completed
to take advantage of economies of scale in the shop or to gain time on
the fabrication schedule.
Brace - a structural element used to stiffen or support a portion of a structure or
frame.
Built-up Member a structural element fabricated from a number of other
structural elements connected by welding, bolts or other means.
CAD Computer Aided Design using popular programs such as Autocad that
digitize (computerize) the geometry of the structure.
Calculations structural analysis tabulations performed and documented by the
structural Engineer of record to size all structural elements, braces, and
stiffeners in accordance with the Code.
Camber a curvature built into a Beam, truss or other structural element to
offset anticipated deflection so that the element will not bow under dead
load.
Chamfer the result of cutting or grinding (beveling) the edge of a steel
member or plate at other than a ninety-degree angle. This often occurs
when welding two pieces of steel together.
Code The Code of Standard Practice for Steel Buildings and Bridges as
published by the American Institute of Steel Construction.
Column a structural element that usually carries its primary loads in
compression or tension parallel its axis.
Column Base usually a thick plate at the bottom of a column through which
anchor bolts mechanically connect the column and transfer forces to the
foundation.
Composite Beam a structural element, usually a Beam that is connected to a
concrete slab such that the steel and concrete act as one element.
Compression the state, for example in a column or an element of a truss,
whereby a member is being shortened by a force. Compression is an
axial load that is the opposite of tension.
Connection a joint or node of structural elements used to transfer forces
between structural elements or members.
Dead Load the weight of the structural frame (or element) itself plus any
equipment permanently attached to it.
Decking a structural element usually constructed from corrugated bent plate
used to form an elevated slab.
Design Forces the loads that act on the structural system, e.g. dead load, live
load, and environmental influences such as wind load, snow load, seismic
load, and other dynamic loads.
Detail Drawing a shop drawing, usually produced by a detailer, that defines
the exact shape, dimensions, bolt hole patterns, etc. of a single piece of
steel (or more) that may stand alone in the structure or that is one of
many pieces in an assembly or shipping piece.
Detailer a person or entity that is charged with the production of the
advanced bill of materials, final bill of materials, and the production of all
shop drawings necessary to purchase, fabricate and erect structural steel.
The detailer may be an independent contractor or on the staff of a
fabrication or erection company.
Detail Piece - a single piece of steel that may stand alone in the structure or that
is one of many pieces in an assembly or shipping piece.
Detailing the production of different types of shop drawings needed to
fabricate and erect structural steel.
Engineer of Record a sole practitioner or member of a firm responsible for the
structural engineering of the steel structure and that ultimately seals the
drawings and specifications with his or her professional seal.
Erection the act of assembling the shipping pieces in the field including
material handling, safety, plumb and bolt, welding, and placing deck
material.
Erection Drawing a primary shop drawing that illustrates to the raising gang
how to assemble the shipping pieces in the field. Ironworkers match
piece marks on the actual shipping pieces to the piece marks noted on
the erection drawings.
Fabrication the act of changing steel from the mill or warehouse into the exact
configuration needed for assembly into a shipping piece or directly into a
structural frame. It includes material handling, template making, cutting,
bending, punching, welding, and grinding.
Force a reaction that develops in a member or structural element, e.g. axial
loads, moments, shear and torsion.
Frame a system of assembled structural elements.
Geometry the configuration of all the structural elements noted on the
engineering and shop drawings that depict the relationship of one
structural element to the next. The geometry is controlled by the drawings
produced by the Engineer of record from which the detailer uses working
points and dimensions to produce erection, detail and other shop
drawings. If the geometry does not close it means that one or more
dimensions are wrong.
Girder a large primary beam used to carry point loads along its length. Girders
usually support beams and columns.
Grade a designation of the ASTM that identifies the chemical composition and
strength characteristics of structural steel, e.g. ASTM A50 which identifies
the steel as having a yield (or failure) strength of 50,000 pounds per square
inch.
Live Load the loads imposed on a structure that are not permanently attached
to the structure such as loads imposed by the weight of people, movable
equipment, vehicles and furnishings. It does not include wind load, snow
load or seismic load.
Loads a force or systems of forces carried by the structure or any of its
elements.
Loading Combinations are the systematic application of composite design
forces or loading conditions used to determine the maximum stresses in
structural members. For example 100% dead load and 80% live load plus
50% wind load from the east plus 75% snow load all occurring in a
designated seismic zone. These loads would all be applied to the
computer model structure at the same time.
Member a structural element such as a beam, column, girder or brace.
Mill Order the actual final purchase order for the mill or manufacturer based
on quantities derived from the production of certain steel shop drawings.
This order replaces or confirms the advanced bill.
Moment a force in of steel that is caused by an applied load causing a
structural element to want to rotate at a given point causing a moment
reaction at that point. The moment, in simple terms, is measured by
multiplying the force times the distance that force is applied from the
support.
Moment Connection is a joint that resists and supports a moment such that the
joint resists rotation.
Piece Mark an identification number that distinguishes one piece of steel or
assembly from another. Piece marks oftentimes follow a code that can
tell the ironworker the exact area, level and location of the piece of steel.
Pin Connection is a joint that does not resist a moment and in the structural
computer model allows the joint to rotate eliminating the moment in a
structural member. Pin connections are common in the design of trusses.
Plate Girder A typically large beam capable of supporting large loads built-up
by welding various plates together. Sometimes referred to as a built-up
member.
Point Load is an applied force concentrated in a small area on a structural
element. The load is usually measured in pounds. A heavy piece of
machinery with a small footprint is an example of a point load.
Reaction a force or system of forces that occur at a connection or support
resulting from the application of loads to the structure. Reactions are
needed to design every connection in a structural frame. Reactions are
usually categorized as being axial (parallel), bending (perpendicular) and
torsion (twisting).
Shear the deformation force in a structural element, usually a beam, in which
parallel planes tend to slide relative to each other.
Shipping Piece Sometimes a single piece of steel or more typically an
assembly of fabricated steel pieces that are transported to the field as a
unit and that are erected into the structure as a single assembly.
Splice a connection between two structural elements to form one structural
element.
Standards a set of engineering calculations that define the procedure
submitted by a fabricator for designing certain elements in the structure,
e.g. a procedure for designing moment connections, truss connections or
simple beam shear connections. The Engineer of Record usually approves
of these procedures in advance of the fabricator designing the
connections.
I.
industry. Its primary purpose is to form a skeleton for the building or structure
essentially the part of the structure that holds everything up and together. Steel
has many advantages when compared to other structural building materials
such as concrete, timber, plastics and the newer composite materials. Steel is
one of the friendliest environmental building materials steel is 100% recyclable
and in fact, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute, steel is the most
recycled material in the United States reducing the burden on todays landfills.
Steel, unlike wood, does not warp or twist and does not substantially expand
and contract with the weather. Unlike concrete, steel does not need time to
cure and is immediately at full strength. Steel is versatile, has more strength with
less weight, has an attractive appearance, can be erected in most weather
conditions, is of uniform quality, has proven durability and has low life cycle
costs. These advantages make steel the building material of choice.
Steel as a building material has been studied and tested for many years.
It might be said that we understand the behavior of steel better than any other
building material. Steel is a predictable material and during the 1990s the
industry had implemented new procedures for designing steel structures.
Structural design has evolved, mostly due to the necessity caused by
earthquakes.
The evolution of steel design brought us from the theory that the stiffer the
structure the better. Today, flexibility and ductility is key. Until the 1970s,
structures were designed using proven formulas, but the calculations were done
by hand. Today, using software on your PC, you can literally design a structure
in a day, something that could have taken a structural engineer months to do
using paper and pencil. The new tools available today solve some old problems
and create some new ones. One of the key ingredients of the evolution of steel
structure design is CAD (Computer Aided Design). The days of drafting are
almost gone and digitizing the structure in the computer saves time, ensures
quality and usually results in a lower cost. However, like all innovations,
technology breeds its own set of new problems.
With us knowing so much about steel one would question why this
component of a project is often plagued with problems. The steel industry is well
organized. There are codes provided by the steel industry, most local and
national building codes address steel issues, academia is constantly studying
steel design and construction, and we are constantly learning from structural
steel failures. So why is it that structural steel, usually a critical path activity on
any project, has associated with it so many problems?
The answer lies in the process from design through erection, the number
and types of parties involved in the process, and the ease and speed at which
changes can be accommodated. This chapter will present the basics of
structural design, fabrication and erection and will provide the non-technical
attorney a better framework from which to understand their clients issues and
ask better questions.
II.
change the process, the path of steel structural design and construction is
predictable and proven. For the purposes of this chapter we will examine
structural steel in the context of a building design requiring the services of an
architect. However, there are many structures, constructed of steel, that do not
require architectural input these could include frames to mount equipment
and machinery, offshore platforms, marine terminals, refineries, process plants
and other non-aesthetic structures.
The production of conceptual, schematic and design development
drawings are essential predecessor activities to finalizing the design of the
structural framework. In theory, it is the structural engineers job to make the
vision of the architect come true. While most architects can appreciate the
complexity of the structural design of their vision, only the structural engineer
can gauge what needs to be done to satisfy the architects requirements.
After the architecture of the building is determined, the design of the
framework beams, columns, bracing etc. proceeds with engineering
calculations.
10
A.
Engineering
Structural engineering is the application of science and math to
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columns, trusses, and girders. Main members are the skeleton of the
framework and are the primary members that carry the loads imparted
on the structure. Simply, it is the part of the structure that holds things up.
The structural engineering of secondary members may include bracing,
stairs, and decking. Secondary structural elements are designed to carry
specific loads. For example, a brace is added to provide extra support in
the area of a load thereby reducing the size of a member or the moment
at a connection. Connections are joints or nodes of structural elements
used to transfer forces between structural elements or members. The
structural engineering of connections ensures that at the point (node)
where the structural members meet (connect), sufficient steel area exists
to resist the cumulative stresses at that node axial loads (compression
and tension), bending moments, and torsional loadings (torque).
1.
13
Typical Framing Plan by the Engineer of Record. Note column line locations designated by numerical and
alphanumeric designations in circles. Plan views typically show the dimensional spacing between column lines.
Column lines are usually located to the centerline of the column, which oftentimes coincides with the centerline of
a beam, girder or truss.
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Typical Elevation of a Truss drawn by the Engineer of Record. Elevations describe the relative vertical
position of structural elements to one another. Note the top of slab elevations of the various floors.
Also note the column line designations and the fact that no dimensions are given for column lines
this information would be contained on a plan drawing. Note that member sizes are being called
out and that loads are given for the diagonal members of the truss.
applying this live load to the design, the engineer does not
have to calculate the cause and effect of every single piece
of equipment that can stress the structure. However, in some
cases, certain machinery is placed on the floor that is so
heavy that point loads must be taken into consideration.
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Typical Section and Detail of a Complex Connection drawn by the Engineer of Record. Sections and
details are supposed to provide the fabricator with complete instructions on how to fabricate and erect the
steel piece or assembly. Note how Section 1A is a slice taken through Detail TA as designated by the
circled arrow at the bottom of the detail. Details and sections provide information on dimensions that are
not practical to show on large plans and elevations, plate shapes and sizes, welding information and bolt
patterns.
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2.
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A typical secondary member of a brace drawn by the Engineer of Record. This drawing is a
Section cut vertically through the structure and shows how the brace frames into the horizontal
member it is supporting and how it frames into the member to support the load.
3.
Connection Design
It is often the case that the structural design of the
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This is an illustration of a simple shear connection. The figure on the left is an elevation and the
figure on the right is a section cut right trough the connection. The smaller beam is fabricated with
boltholes, while the larger girder is fabricated with a plate welded (note weld symbol) to it with
boltholes. In the field the bolt holes on the beam are lined up with the boltholes on the plate and
the beams are bolted together.
engineer as a consultant.
Either way, by taking this approach, the Engineer of
record (EOR) in this process delegates to others the
responsibility for completing the rest of the design of the
structure. Arguably, all the EOR did was size the main and
secondary members. Yet one can make a case that the
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21
Detail of Connection with Stiffener Plates drawn by the Engineer of Record. Notice how the
centerline of the diagonal member crosses the centerlines of the two main members at a work point
designated W.P. Note that this section does not provide enough detail information to fabricate the
necessary pieces to make the connection. This is the purpose of detail and erection drawings drawn
by the detailer. This section describes the need for reinforcement plates, but does not describe the
thickness and size of the plates. This will be determined by the connection designer.
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23
4.
Engineering Calculations
Somewhat analogous to as-built drawings, the EOR
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B.
Detailing
Detailing is the process of converting the structural design
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have made the job of the steel detailer easier. Detailers have the
responsibility to interpret the structural design drawings for the
purpose of determining what steel needs to be purchased and how
it will all fit together.
1.
Typical Bill of Material prepared by the detailer to send to the mill. As an example, line 6 lists the
type of member as a W or wide-flange shape 14 inches tall weighing 370 pound per foot being
25 feet 2 inches long made of Grade 28 steel.
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2.
Erection Drawings
Erection drawings provide the field erection crew
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Section from erection drawing indicating shipping piece numbers; for example as D336, A202, and
B192. Notice that every connection has an associated detail where the erector can find the
instructions on how to weld and/or bolt the connection in the field. Every dimension for locating
each member is given to the centerline of the member.
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3.
Detail drawings
Detail drawings are what most people in the
Beam section from a detail drawing providing precise cutting instructions to the fabricator. Section
illustrates location of bolt holes and stiffener plates. The beam is designated as piece number A252
and the nearside stiffener plates have piece number p804 and the far side plates number p329.
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4.
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C.
Fabrication
Fabrication is the process of cutting, burning, welding, drilling,
34
With the right steel at their location and templates in hand, the fitters
begin the process of producing the detail pieces.
Later in the process, fitters or a separate welding crew will attach a
series of detail pieces together to form the assemblies or shipping pieces.
There are many techniques used in welding metal together.
The two most common welding processes in the construction
industry fall under the categories of gas welding and arc welding. Gas
welding is a process in which
heat is produced with an
electric arc formed between a
metal electrode and the metal
being welded. An inert gas, usually helium or argon shields the arc from
contamination. Common gas techniques are MIG (metal-inert-gas) and
TIG (tungsten-inert-gas) welding.
Carbon arc welding is a
puddling process in which the
heat from an electric arc
creates a small pool of molten
metal that can be added to
using metal from a filler rod. This
is sometimes referred to as stick
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D.
Erection
Erection is the process of erecting or connecting together the
shipping pieces in the field at the project site. Generally columns get
Wide flange column welded to steel base plate and connected to foundation via
GREYHAWK North America, LLC anchors bolts embedded into concrete foundation. Non-shrinkable grout is used as
36a
base and to level the column base plate.
erected first, then trusses and major girders, then beams, bracing, stairs
and other miscellaneous steel.
The success of erection is dependent on a few important factors.
The first and most critical element is the erection of the columns. Column
base plates are connected to the foundation using anchor bolts placed
in the concrete by the foundation contractor. The location of the anchor
bolts (usually four or more) for a single column in the foundation must
match exactly the pattern of bolt holes in the base plate of a single
column.
Moreover, because it is more economical to erect frames
comprised of multiple columns held together with beams and braces,
rather than individual columns, the spacing between anchor bolt
groupings must line-up exactly with the location of the columns. In the
real world bolt hole patterns in base plates often do not match the
anchor bolt locations. Also, the centerlines of columns often do not line
up with the centerline of the anchor bolt grouping. To prevent these
errors, fabricators usually insist on a survey of the anchor bolt locations
prior to fabricating base plates and frames. Another method of
mitigating the tight tolerances is for the foundation contractor and the
fabricator to use templates to insure an exact match.
Another critical element of erection is crane access and
movement. Steel is erected using one or more cranes, usually more than
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one. Typically a few different types of cranes are used for steel erection
tower cranes, crawler cranes and hydraulic cranes. Tower cranes are
those large T-shaped, counterbalanced configurations used to erect
multi-story structures and capable of heavy lifts. These cranes rotate
about a single point and are capable of lifting steel anywhere within the
radius of the tower arm. Crawler cranes are mobile and move around the
site to make the necessary steel picks. Hydraulic cranes tend to be
smaller, more mobile, and are used for lighter loads.
Crane movement is an important consideration in the
constructibility review of a project. Erectors usually divide the job into
phases based on the anticipated movements of the cranes. For the sake
of efficiency the fabricator usually fabricates the job in these same phases
so that the erector has the necessary steel for a single phase (or area)1.
One or more of these cranes may be designated for unloading steel
when it shows up at the jobsite.
On most projects, the erection process starts with unloading the
shipping pieces using one of several cranes usually on the site. Sometimes
shipping pieces are erected into the framework directly from the truck;
othertimes pieces must be placed first in a staging area for later erection.
When preparing an as-built schedule for steel activities, one can usually ascertain the actual dates for the
erection of steel by analyzing crane movement a description of which should be detailed on a daily
construction report or log.
1
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Section of two-level slab illustrating main steel beams, decking and studs. The corrugations of the
decking run perpendicular to the beams. Notice how this structural section is referencing
architectural drawings for dimensional information. Details regarding beam sizes, connections, stud
locations, rebar placement, etc. are contained on other drawings.
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III.
41
A.
Engineering
The best time to discover an error or omission or enact a change is
B.
Detailing
Even minor changes during the detailing phase may have a large
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C.
Fabrication
The detailer sends the shop drawings to the fabricators shop office
for processing. This processing includes: checking the drawing to insure all
pieces are detailed, making templates, deciding which pieces will be
fabricated first, deciding on gaining economies of scale by fabricating
like pieces simultaneously, and checking the shop drawings against the
latest set of structural drawing prepared and issued by the EOR.
If a change comes in during fabrication it will inherently impact
both detailing and fabrication. The impacts are huge when an assembly
is fifty per cent complete and a change is issued revising a structural
element. This disruption may cause a partially completed assembly to be
45
discarded in its entirety or set-aside on hold. Both cause more work and
create inefficiencies.
If a change is sent to the fabricator after the assembly is completely
fabricated the impact is similar. But if the assembly has already been
shipped to the field and the erection crew has already installed it, the
impacts are very expensive and may have a significant time impact on
the project.
D.
Erection
Changes that occur during erection are the most costly and
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may require the moving of some big cranes and may require the moving
or additional rental of equipment. Disruptions caused by these changes
require ironworkers to remobilize in an area already completed. In short,
changes cause the erector more work, which takes more time and drives
up costs.
Changes can occur during detailing, fabrication or erection.
Complicated field changes discovered during erection are usually sent
back to the detailer to implement and then get transmitted to the shop
for fabrication. In the field, the erectors field engineer can sometimes
detail (work out the geometry and design) simple changes. Fabrication
of this changed or new piece or assembly can take place back in the
shop or the ironworkers in the field can fabricate the new work.
V.
A.
Weight
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Steel is heavy and people associate weight with money and that is
true. But the real cost of the steel framework is in the design of the
connections. For example, depending on the project, steel could be
bought for about $400 per ton, fabricated for about $450 per ton and
erected for $550 per ton. Adding these components up brings the cost of
installed steel to approximately $1,400 per ton. The equivalent cost of
connections could cost anywhere from $2,000 to as much as $6,000 per
ton or more. Efficiently designed connections translate into cost savings
during fabrication and erection.
Many people in the construction industry think that the way to
reduce the cost of the structural contract is by reducing the weight of the
main members. While this does reduce the structure's weight, it causes
the connections to become heavier and more complex. Connections
must contain enough steel material to resist axial forces, bi-directional
bending moments, torsion, and shear. Reducing member sizes reduces
the amount of steel at the connection without changing the loads. The
only place this can be made up is by the addition of various gusset and
stiffening plates to add to the steel area at the node.
A simple example is that a wide flange shape beam that is
eighteen inches tall and weighs one hundred and thirty pounds per foot
(W18 x 130) has similar structural characteristics as a W27 x 84. The latter
weighs forty-six pounds per foot less, and thus its use will lighten the main
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B.
Connections
As discussed earlier, the connection designer needs full
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C.
Quality
If one thing can be said about the steel construction industry
50
whether the welds and bolts are good, and if the characteristics of
the steel have changed. Macroscopically we can visually inspect
the steel, inspect the bolts and inspect the welds and we can
visually examine the steel for abnormalities. In fact, fabricators and
erectors have some of the best quality controls programs in the
construction industry.
D
.
S
c
h
e
d
u
l
e
S
t
e
Sample Mill Report certifying the mechanical properties of the steel, including yield and
tensile strength, used to manufacture the shape. Also included are the chemical properties
of the steel, based on the customary chemical composition of steel, including carbon,
manganese, phosphorus, sulfur, silicon, copper, nickel, chromium, molybdenum, and
vanadium.
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E.
Changes
As discussed earlier, changes generated for whatever reason
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F.
Cost Estimates
We know so much about the design and construction of steel
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G.
Other Disciplines
The AISC Code requires that all data needed for the
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H.
Structural Drawings
In any discipline there is a convention for preparing plans.
The protocol for steel is well known, agreed to, and it works. A
Partial plan with drawing revision block. Revision block indicates that Issue No. 4 was issued for Construction
and since that issue this drawing had been re-issued twelve times. The drawing illustrates changes, with
clouds around the affected area, with the appropriate revision number noted. Drawings are clouded to
show the latest changes and are removed on subsequent re-issues the revision marks in the triangles
always remain on the drawing.
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I.
Failure
Even though so much is known about steel and structures are
Changes can be issued by the EOR one at a time using a sketch (usually sent to the detailer by Fax) or in
Bulletins, which is a re-issuing of a structural drawing.
2
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J.
Economies of Scale
Steel detailers strive to draw similar detail pieces and
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final dimensions when the exact lengths are known. Because much
of the plate cutting in large shops is computerized, fabricators can
save substantial time and cost by pre-fabricating assemblies.
Whether in the detailers office or in the fabrication plant,
changes disrupt planned-for economies of scale. If for example a
change submitted by the architect alters the length of one of the
beams, the blank might be too short and may need to be
scrapped. Most fabricators count on economies of scale in their bid
and count on the time and cost savings. If a change disrupts the
fabricators plan, the fabricator clearly loses the benefit.
If designed with fabrication in mind, structures can be
configured to have repetitious members in type, size, material and
end conditions. Even if that means that some beams may be
heavier than required, the labor hours saved in fabrication may
easily pay for the added cost of material.
____________________________
The Author would like to acknowledge the contributions of the American Institute of
Steel Construction and Brawley & Associates, a Detailer in Sutter Creek, California, for
providing some of the illustrations in this chapter.
Gary Berman
Gary Berman is President and Chief Executive Officer of the construction management
and consulting firm of GREYHAWK North America, LLC. He is a licensed professional
engineer with more than twenty-two years experience in structural design, construction
management, dispute resolution and design-build/EPC contracting. Mr. Berman can
be contacted via email at gberman@greyhawk.com.
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